Tagged: Scott Rolen

Alumni Report —

SCOTT ROLENrolen & held.jpg

Rolen has enjoyed a very successful season in the Majors in 2010, and has resurrected his career with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Jasper, IN, native is currently hitting .307 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs. His 14 HRs ties him for second in the N.L., and he is just three away from leader Corey Hart (17). He is in the top ten in RBIs, just seven away from leader David Wright (52), and his impressive .307 average is good for ninth in the league (Andre Eithier leads with a remarkable .346).

Rolen, 35, began the 2009 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he hit .320 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs over 88 games. He was dealt by the Jays at the July 31 deadline, along with cash considerations to the Cincinnati Reds for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke, and Zach Stewart. The 1997 NL Rookie of the Year finished the season with the Reds, and hit .270 with three home runs and 24 RBIs over 40 games.

A career .284 hitter with 297 career home runs, Rolen has always been impressive at the plate, but it has always been his defense which has made him standout. A 7-time National League Gold Glove Award winner at 3B, Rolen is third behind Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10) for most Gold Gloves by a 3B.

Originally selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2nd round of the 1993 draft, Rolen began his Reading Phillies career in 1995, playing in 20 games, and hitting .289 with three homers and 15 RBIs.

A year later, Rolen was back in Baseballtown, and excelled at the dish. He hit .361 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs — earning a promotion to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA), where he continued to rake. He made his Major League debut in the same season for Philadelphia, and just a year later, he was the N.L. Rookie of the Year.

While injuries have played a big part of his career, there’s no denying that Scott Rolen has been one of the game’s greatest third basemen in the history of baseball. Along with his Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove awards, Rolen is also a 5-time All-Star (2010 should be 6), a World Series champion with the Cardinals in 2006, and a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2002. It is great to see that Rolen is healthy and back to form in 2010 — which has indeed been an impressive season for the former R-Phil.  

Back to Blogging…

Yes, I know…it’s been awhile since I last blogged. The season, which is in full swing, is a long and grueling season, and while I have gotten used to tweeting hours on end each day, I have somehow forgot to keep my blog going.

Well, today it returns, and it is back and in full force for the foreseeable future. Expect daily updates on all things R-Phils. I’ll take an in-depth look at who’s hot, who’s not here in Reading, as well as a look at some alumni who are enjoying the 2010 season.

Yohan Flande — Flande takes the hill tonight for the R-Phils as they open a four-game series with the Portland Sea Dogs at 6:35 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium. Flande, a member of the Philadelphia Phillies 40-man roster, enters tonight’s contest with the third best ERA in the Eastern League (2.39). The Dominican native was truly impressive in the month of April — posting a 0-1 mark with a 1.52 ERA in four games. He’s followed that up by going 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA over four games this month.

B.J. Rosenberg — Rosenberg was placed on the disabled list all the way back on April 12 due to a right lat strain. Four days ago the young right-hander was activated and sent to Clearwater (A+). The Virginia native made his 2010 Clearwater debut on May 20 and tossed a scoreless inning — allowing two hits, one walk, while fanning two batters. Yesterday, he tossed 1.1 scoreless innings and fanned two more batters. He should be back in Reading at some point here in 2010.

Scott Rolen — Rolen is on a tear during the month of May. After hitting a solid .257 with five homers and 10 RBIs in April, the former R-Phils 3B has hit .318 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in May. Yesterday, against the Cleveland Indians, the Jasper, IN native launched two home runs including a solo shot in the top of the sixth, which tied the game at 3-3.

John Suomi — Suomi, who was promoted to Lehigh Valley after Paul Hoover was recalled by Philadelphia, enjoyed a solid day at the dish on May 20 in Allentown. The 29-year-old backstop launched a three-run homer, and helped lead the IronPigs to an 8-4 victory over Louisville. It will be interesting to see if Suomi sticks around with Lehigh Valley as Hoover was put on waivers yesterday due to Brian Schneider being activated off the disabled list.